Do Not Ruffle What Hellish Beasts Conceal

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Do Not Ruffle What Hellish Beasts Conceal

Th’ expense of spirit in a waste of shame
Is lust in action; and till action, lust
Is perjured, murderous, bloody, full of blame
—Shakespeare Sonnet 129

“The well-sung woes will soothe my pensive ghost”
—Alexander Pope, “Eloisa to Abelard“

Do not ruffle what hellish beasts conceal:
Dank specters loom in gardens overgrown;
Among the tombstones, dampened moss has sown
Seeds of disease that time rushes to heal.
You fled that haunted ground and sought appeal
In cleansing waves, where brighter light was shown—
The molded beast tried to shape you into his own,
But Spirit forged forth from what devils reveal.

Now, should you prod that beast from years decayed,
Be ready for venom, tangled words, and fire;
His bile will scorch the joys that you have made.
Let present peace, not rancor, lift you higher—
For only those who leave the past unswayed
Can walk in Spirit, freed from the ragged falsifier.